A conservation success

In India's Kaziranga National Park, tigers can grow fat feasting on hog deer, water buffalo and elephants. The park has the world's highest density of…Read More »

tigers, according to camera trap surveys conducted from 2009 to 2011 by Aaranyak, a non-profit wildlife conservation society in India.

Kaziranga is in India's northeastern Assam state, where tall grasslands and forest meet the foothills of the Himalayas. Though the park has a high density of tigers, the animals face pressures from poachers, said Firoz Ahmed, a conservation biologist with Aaranyak.

Aaranyak tracks tigers and wildlife in Kaziranga and other national parks and preserves throughout India to monitor the endangered species, which survive in about six percent of their historic range, Ahmed said. The group partners with Panthera, the World Wildlife Fund and other conservation societies.

The remote cameras also capture more than tigers. Rarely-seen animals such as the spotted linsang and the clouded leopard appeared in a camera trap survey Aaranyak conducted in Namdapha National Park in 2012. The park is east of Kaziranga, in the state of Arunachal Pradesh near India's border with Myanmar. Less «

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Namdapha Bengal tiger

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

One of two tigers identified during a 2012 survey of Namdapha National Park in India. Aaranyak, a conservation group in India, tracked the second tiger through DNA analysis of its poop.

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Asiatic golden cat

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

The Asiatic golden cat is one of many elusive animals caught on camera traps during a tiger survey in Namdapha National Park in northeastern India. The…Read More »

cats stand 22 inches (56 centimeters) tall at the shoulder and live throughout southeast Asia. Less «

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Spotted Linsang

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

A rare picture of the spotted linsang from a 2012 tiger survey in Namdapha National Park in India. The small carnivore lives in trees and weighs only 2 pounds (1 kilogram).

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Clouded Leopard

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

The clouded leopard is another reclusive cat humans rarely see in the wild, though camera traps are spotting the sleek animals more and more. Relative…Read More »

to body size, clouded leopards' long canines are the largest of all living cats, according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Less «

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Tiger with hog deer

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

A tiger in India's Kazaringa National Park carries a hog deer. The small deer are like chicken for a tiger, providing about 65 pounds (30 kilograms) of…Read More »

"Kung-fu elephant"

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

Photos show an elephant destroying one of Aaranyak's remote cameras, which cost $1,000 and are imported from the United States. The cameras are typically…Read More »

mounted as pairs to snap each side of a passing tiger. Elephants don't like the flash, and do their best to destroy the camera traps, said conservation biologist Firoz Ahmed, who dubbed the animal "kung-fu elephant" for its front and back kicks. Less «

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Illegal logging

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

Illegal logging inside a tiger preserve in India. The endangered animals face increasing population pressure from people who wish to clear forest land…Read More »

for logging and farming, said biologist Firoz Ahmed of the conservation group Aaranyak. Less «

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Water buffalo

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

A water buffalo stops for a drink in front of a camera trap in Kaziranga National Park in northeastern India's Assam state.

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One-horned Rhino

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

Kaziranga National Park, in northeastern India, is a conservation success story for the Asian one-horned rhinoceros. More than 2,000 rhinos live in the…Read More »

park, of the approximately 3,000 worldwide. Only a few dozen were left in the wild in the early 20th century. Less «

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Burning bright

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak

A tiger looks at a flashing camera trap in Kaziranga National Park in India.

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Restful bath

Credit: TCRI/Aaranyak/Firoz Ahmed

A tiger rests in water in this well-known photo by conservation biologist Firoz Ahmed. Ahmed works for the non-profit wildlife conservation group Aaranyak,…Read More »

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Author Bio

Becky Oskin

Becky Oskin is a senior writer for Live Science. She covers earth science, climate change and space, as well as general science topics. Becky was a science reporter at The Pasadena Star-News and has freelanced for New Scientist and the American Institute of Physics. She earned a master's degree in geology from Caltech, a bachelor's degree from Washington State University, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz.